For the last 23 years (13 with The Hockey News) DobberHockey has reviewed each team from a fantasy-hockey standpoint and graded them.

The 24th annual review will appear here on DobberHockey throughout the summer. This is not a review of the likely performance on the ice or in the standings, but in the realm of fantasy hockey both for the season ahead as well as the foreseeable future. Offensively, will the team perform? Are there plenty of depth options worthy of owning in keeper leagues? What about over the next two or three years? These questions are what we take into consideration when looking at the depth chart and the player potential on that depth chart.

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Gone – JJ Peterka, Sean Durzi, Vitek Vanecek, Alex Kerfoot, Ian Cole, Cole Beaudoin.

Incoming – Vincent Trocheck, Anders Lee, Sebastian Cossa, Andrew Peeke, Zac Jones, Joshua Roy.

Impact of changes 

Newly acquired Vincent Trocheck (righty) had the 13^th best faceoff win percentage (56.9%). He could bump Logan Cooley to left wing because Cooley was the worst of all Utah centers in the dot (44.3%). Trocheck leaving PP1 in New York for PP2 in Utah will hurt his points but he remains valuable in other areas like hits (2.88/game). Anders Lee, signed as a free agent, should compete for a spot in the top six.

After just one year, the plug was pulled on the JJ Peterka experiment. Trocheck and Lee can replace his 25 goals. Utah also loses an offensive-minded defenseman in Sean Durzi, but they have Mackenzie Weegar to backfill that PP2 spot.

Ready for Full Time

Tij Iginla (6^th overall in 2024) of the Kelowna Rockets led the WHL in points per game (1.87), and Caleb Desnoyers (4^th overall in 2025) of the Moncton Wildcats finished 2^nd in the QMJHL in points per game (1.73). The future looks promising for the Utah Mammoth. "Caleb and Tij have the ability to come in and make our team," said Bill Armstrong this summer, "Both can play wing, both can play opposite sides. There's a lot of flexibility for our club, but there (are) openings."

Dmitri Simashev (6^th overall in 2023) and Zac Jones (a former 3^rd round pick who was acquired from the Rangers) can compete for the left side of the bottom pairing alongside July 3 addition Andrew Peeke. If they both prove capable, Utah can let Nate Schmidt walk after his three-year deal completes next season. Zac Jones led the AHL in scoring by a defenseman with 62 points in 60 games. At just 20 years of age, Simashev had the fourth-highest points per game (0.875) by a defenseman in the AHL.

Let us not forget about Daniil But, whose 0.95 points per game at age 20, led all Tucson forwards. He was taken 12^th overall in 2023, and got a taste of the NHL playing 29 games with the big club. There are spots to be won in training camp for these young offensive players. Kailer Yamamoto, Brandon Tanev, and Liam O'Brien should be looking over their shoulder.

Karel Vejmelka had the heaviest workload of all goalies last year (over 3692 minutes). He will have backup Sebastian Cossa with him in the crease. Cossa, a 15^th overall pick of the Red Wings in 2021, was expendable because he was passed by Michal Postava on the depth chart during the AHL playoffs. Cossa is signed to a 2-year, $2 million AAV contract.

Fantasy Outlook

Dylan Guenther, 58 points in his last 58 games, is ready to elevate into a perennial point-per-game winger. He along with Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz should lead the offense.

Logan Cooley benefitted from an elevated shooting percentage (23.5%) in 2025-26. A left leg injury forced him to miss a good chunk of the season, but he is hitting his breakout threshold with 211 games under his belt.

Barrett Hayton should center the third line with Lawson Crouse and Michael Carcone, while Jack McBain (lefty) complements Kevin Stenlund (righty) as a faceoff option on the fourth line.

Mackenzie Weegar was on the short end of puck luck: a low 5v5 shooting percentage (6.6%), and an even lower shooting percentage (2.6%) – half his career average (5.1%). He is a beast in peripherals averaging over two hits/game and over two blocks/game. The departure of Durzi clears out the depth chart, to the benefit of Weegar.

However, the main man on defense is Mikhail Sergachev. Like his white stick camouflaged on the white ice, he disappeared in the six games to start the season (zero points), but then turned on the jets with 59 points in the remaining 72 games. To temper expectations though, he did have about an excess of 9-10 secondary assists last year, so that needs to be incorporated into his projection.

No goalie has played more games (122) than Vejmelka over the past two seasons. With Cossa in tow, look for Vejmelka's workload to be eased.

Utah's 92 points had them tied for 15^th in the league. The additions cancelled out the subtractions this summer, so a similar output is projected in the difficult Central Division. The rising talent here is good enough to clinch one of the last playoff spots in the Western Conference.

Fantasy Grade: B (last year was B+)

Check out the rest of the Dobber team previews here.